Nicely seasoned whole catfish fillets, pan seared, then smothered in an etouffée gravy and served over rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or grits.

Smothered Catfish Etouffée

Can you take another etouffée? Oh my goodness, yes. We do "smother" a lot of different foods down south!

• The most commonly known smothered dish is probably, Crawfish Etouffée. Even folks visiting our area are probably most familiar with this dish. Delish and great served with a nice blackened catfish too.
• Lesser known but popular locally is this shortcut Shrimp Etouffee, and let's just say I was very surprised when a friend from Louisiana shared this little shortcut secret!

Of course, seafood isn't the only thing we smother!

Seasoned pork chops, seared in a skillet and smothered in gravy with caramelized vegetables.

Pork Chop Étouffée

We do so love to "smother" our food here in the Deep South!

I mean, what's not to love about food simmered in gravy or sauce? Good stuff! I mean, check these out y'all.

A classic, southern-seasoned stewed chicken and gravy, made easy using the Instant Pot!

Instant Pot Stewed Chicken

I love my slow-stewed chicken, but it's just that - a bit of a timely process since the chicken slow simmers for awhile. Once I gave it a try in my Instant Pot, it was a game changer!

With whole chickens on sale regularly around here under $1 a pound, and a faster cooking process, it has become an easy, comfort meal to enjoy anytime.

Seasoned and seared pork chops, simmered with tomatoes, onion and sweet bell peppers.

Creole Smothered Chops

These are just so tasty, it's hard to believe that they are also simple and easy.

They aren't really "smothered," as in the sense most folks think about with that word - all saturated in some kind of gravy or sauce. It's more of a light smother of veggies.

Chopped cabbage, smothered down with the trinity of vegetables, ground sausage and tomatoes.

Smothered Cabbage with Sausage and Tomato

Well hey y'all - wow, it's a new year already... Happy New Year! Okay we're more than a week into it now, but what can I say? I've been busy with life.

Mercy was it cold enough this January for everybody though?

I know that in comparison to the rest of the country, here on the Gulf Coast we had it pretty easy. No snow, but the cold rain that rolled in right when the temps started dropping sure would have made for a pretty blanket of snow. We did have three nights in a row where things were freezing, two of which were hard freezes, and with the high winds, daytime temps weren't a whole lot better, so for us here in the Deep South, it was cold!

Potatoes, cabbage and onions, simply seasoned and smothered down in broth with a spicy andouille sausage, is definitely a favorite in the Deep South.

Smothered Potatoes and Cabbage with Andouille

I love cabbage, well... just about any way that you can make it, but The Cajun ... not so much. Not at all actually. I can't figure out what is wrong with him! I still buy it anyway, of course. I'm not gonna deny myself something that I really enjoy because someone in my family doesn't, and neither should you.

Over the years of blogging, I have heard so many of you saying that you really love something, like cabbage or okra, but nobody else in your family will eat it, so you never make it anymore. I can only speak to being a woman, mother and wife, but those titles often mean that we do for others and put ourselves at the bottom of the list and we really need to stop doing that, yes, even with something as simple as a vegetable. I'm not saying that we should become selfish, but that we should treat ourselves as well as we do others is all - that's the message we should give to those we love. We count too.

Young, tender, yellow summer squash, prepared simple and basic. Sweet Vidalia onion and bell pepper is first sauteed in bacon drippings and butter, the squash is added, and slowly smothered down.

Smothered Summer Squash and Onions

Yellow squash is plentiful in our Southern summers and this is pretty much my top favorite way to enjoy it. It's the same basic way many of our other favorite squash recipes begin anyway, from creamed squash to squash dressing and casseroles, though it sure stands pretty well all on its own too.

Inexpensive chuck 7-Bone steak, or other braising steaks such as bottom round, is low simmered with onion, bell pepper, green onion, and garlic, in a rich mushroom sauce.

Cajun Smothered Steak

Sometimes called 7 Steak Etouffee, this is another one of those popular Deep South beef dishes made from an inexpensive cut of meat, and slow simmered over several hours, resulting in a fork tender and tasty piece of beef.

Cajun Chicken Fricassee - Smothered Chicken and Gravy

Chicken is first lightly fried, then a gravy is prepared with the seasoned flour and pan drippings, the chicken is dunked right in the gravy and slow stewed or baked.

Cajun Chicken Fricassee

This is not your typical fried chicken with gravy, oh no.

While the chicken does indeed get a quick fry, the purpose of frying the chicken is primarily to season the oil and add body to the gravy, so don't expect a crunchy fried chicken end product here.

Gravy is then made from the seasoned drippings and the chicken is dunked right into the gravy and the whole thing is finished stovetop or slow in the oven. Holy fat grams, it is some kind of delicious y'all.

Cube steaks or tenderized round steak in a nicely seasoned Creole sauce of tomatoes, onions and peppers with rosemary and thyme - and a secret ingredient!

Creole Smothered Swiss Steak

A stepped-up version of Swiss Steak, Creole Smothered Steak can use either cube steaks, which have already been tenderized, or other beef steaks such as chuck or round steak which is generally less expensive, but also leaner cuts of beef and definitely needing tenderizing.

Be sure not to skip that step!

Pork chops smothered in a cream gravy with sauteed peppers and onion and slow simmered on the stovetop.

Smothered Pork Chops with Cream Gravy

We love our smothered foods in the south. Course, we southerners get accused all the time of either frying everything or else giving it a heavy dousin' of gravy. Well, they are both true - to a degree.

Frying we'll have to address at another time. Today it's all about smothering some chops in a delicious cream gravy. These are certainly an indulgent and incredibly delicious way to serve pork chops, and truly southern to the core. Some like to dredge their chops in flour before browning them, but I prefer the simple sear of the naked meat.

Southern Slow Stewed Chicken

This traditional stewed chicken dish begins with a browned, cut up chicken, that is slow cooked in a roux based gravy.

Southern Stewed Chicken

This is another form of what we refer to in the south as smothered chicken, beginning with the searing of cut up chicken, then a roux-based gravy is prepared, to which the chicken is returned and slow simmered.

It's somewhat similar to Chicken Fricassee, a smothered chicken and gravy dish, except that the chicken is not floured before frying.

It's a simple southern dish created with layers of flavor and that's one reason that it's so good!